_ ERRORS 

IN 



SCHOOL-BOOKS. 



Dedicated to the Advancement of Learning. 



SECOND EDITION. 



BOSTON : 
ALBERT A. POPE. 

1893. 






ERROR 



IN 





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-I'-rH.— . •r.i-" 



SCHOOL-BOOKS. 



Dedicated to the Advaneement of Learning. 



SECOND EDITION. 



J 



BOSTON : 
ALBERT A. POPE„ 

1893. 



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40695 






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ERRORS m SCHOOL-BOOKS. 



To all Persons interested in the Advancement of Learning: 

In submitting to you Errors in School-Books we call 
your attention to the previous search for errors which we 
instituted over a year ago and invited teachers to compete. 
The details concerning that search, and the results finally 
obtained, are fully set forth in the following pages. We 
have now decided to institute another search for errors more 
comprehensive than the former ; and, as truth has no limita- 
tions, we have decided to invite all persons throughout the 
world to join in the search for the elimination of errors from 
the text-books or school-books of the United States. There 
are many persons not school-teachers who take deep interest 
in education, and who have expressed their disappointment 
at not being invited to compete in searching for errors in 
school-books. 

Here in the United States we recognize that there is no 
monopoly of brains, and that intellectual strength may exist 
in any individual, however humble his situation in life, and 
we are of the opinion that it is possible that some of the most 
successful competitors may be outside the ranks of school- 
teachers. Therefore, we earnestly urge every one who wishes 
to benefit the school children of the country to send to us 
any statement that may appear erroneous in any school-book. 

As an additional stimulus we have decided to award one 
of our best pneumatic-tired Columbia Safeties, '93 pattern, 
price 1150, to each of the five persons who shall send to us 
the greatest number of errors which shall be determined to be 
errors by the publishers and the authors of the books in which 
they 0QC13T, or by a board of examiners which we may appoint. 



4 Errors in School- Boohs, 

These alleged errors must be received by us prior to Sep- 
tember 1, 1893. The conditions upon which awards will be 
given will be substantially the same as the conditions clearly 
stated in the former circulars, that is to say, first, the error 
must be one that appears in some text-book or school-book 
in the English language, used in some university, college, 
academy, or school of any description, and the error must be 
one that is susceptible of proof and is taught in lectures 
or lessons, and not merely a typographical mistake, or ah 
error inadvertently made in spelling or grammar. Disputed 
points of history or of opinion will not be considered errors 
in this offer. After the contest is closed the results will be 
published in pamphlet form and distributed throughout the 
country. In the pamphlets will appear the names of all per- 
sons who send to us errors which are deemed of sufficient 
importance by author or publisher to cause the plates to be 
changed. 

In cases where the same error is forwarded to us by two 
or more persons, and the counting of the error affects the 
number of errors to be credited to the two or more persons 
sending in the same error, then duplicates will be credited to 
the person first sending them. 

The following additional rules must be observed by persons 
sending in alleged errors : There must be given the name of 
the book ; the name of the author, if known ; the name and 
address of the publishers ; and the number of the page upon 
which the error occurs ; also the exact words which contain 
the error, and a clear explanation of the correction which 
should be made. The error must be one which appears 
in a book in common use, and if the error be one which has 
been previously corrected in later editions then it cannot be 
counted. 

All communications must be addressed to the Educa- 
tional Department, Pope Manufacturing Company, 

Boston, Mass. 

Very respectfully yours, 

ALBERT A. POPE, President. 

June, 1893, 



Errors in School— Boohs » 



To the Scliool- Teachers of the United States. 



In compliance with the conditions set forth in the accompanying 
circulars, a Columbia bicycle has been awarded to each of the school- 
teachers whose names are appended : 

Miss Phebe F. Burich, Morrison, III. 
• (Corrections made in two school-books.) 

Miss Sara/i C. Denison, Pittsford, Vt. 

(Corrections made in two school-books.) 

Miss Mary J. Roome, Clarendon Hills, Mass. 
Mr. Charles M. Parker, Taylorsville, III. 
Mr. Harold J. Fay, Westborough, Mass. 
Mr. F. William Harkins, Chicago, III. 

Although by the terms of the first circular but one of these — the 
first from whom we received an acknowledged error — could claim 
the prize, we decided to award each of them a bicycle, because their 
letters, containing errors, were mailed at about the same time. 

In our second circular we offered to give a bicycle to any teacher 
sending us a number of important errors. Only two teachers sent 
more than one error which was admitted by the publishers ; to these 
ladies we award bicycles. 

It is our hope that this search for errors will be continued, so that 
the ultimate perfection of school-books may be assured. 

Very respectfully, 

ALBERT A. POPE, Pres. 

Note. — A Ladies' Safety was sent, when desired, in place of the Colum- 
bia Expert to each of the above-mentioned lady teachers. 



6 Errors in School-Boohs, 



The Following Letters are Self-Explanatory. 



Morrison, III., March 23. 
Pope Manufacturing Company. 

Gentlemen : — The bicycle which jou sent me arrived a week or 
ten days ago. It has been much admired here as well as in Clinton, 
Iowa. I thank you most heartily for it. 

Yours respectfully, 

PHEBE F. BURTCH. 



PiTTSFORD, Vt., March 18. 
Pope Manufacturing Company. 

Sirs : — I was greatly surprised and delighted in receiving such a 
beautiful bicycle. 

I had often heard of such things happening but never could believe 
that they were really true ; and even now it seems incredible that for 
two such insignificant errors I should receive such a fine present. 
Hoping you will receive my heartiest thanks, I am, 

Respectfully yours, 

SARAH C. DENISON. 



Clarendon Hills, March 13. 
Pope Manufacturing Company. 

Dear Sirs : — The bicycle which you . awarded me has come. 
Please accept my sincere thanks for your kind and generous gift. It 
must have taken a great deal of time and energy to collect and ex- 
amine all errors. The value of your work is shown in the replies 
sent back by the publishers. 

The machine is a handsome one, and has been admired by all who 
have seen it. It will be a great source of pleasure to me to ride it. 

Very gratefully yours, 

" MARY J. ROOME. 



ERRORS m SCHOOL-BOOKS. 



Some time ago we issued and distributed among the school- 
teachers of this country the following circular : — 

To THE School-Teachers of the United States : — 

The Pope Manufacturing Company, of Boston, Massachusetts, offer 
as a prize a Columbia Expert Bicycle (this machine is of the same 
pattern as that used by Stevens in his bicycle tour around the world) 
to any teacher who may be the first to inform them of any misstate- 
ment of fact which may appear in any school-book studied in this 
country under the authority of any school committee. The error 
must be one that is taught in the lessons and not a mere typograph- 
ical mistake, or an error inadvertently made in spelling or grammar. 
Disputed points of history will not be considered errors in this offer. 
Communications on this subject must be addressed to the " Depart- 
ment of Education," Pope Manufacturing Company. 

What is meant by misstatement is something that all the best 
authorities agree to be such, as, for' example, in " Harper's Introduc- 
tory Geography," on page 15, Lesson X, the following misstatement 
is made : " For the earth has two different motions all the time. It 
turns around on itself — so to speak — that is one motion; and it 
moves in a circle around the sun — this is the other motion." This 
book is now used in the public schools of Brookline, Massachusetts. 

Every intelligent person knows that the earth's orbit is an ellipse, 
as was demonstrated by Kepler, whose laws of planetary motion 
formed the ground work of Newton's discoveries and are the starting 
point of modern astronomy. It is obviously wrong to teach children 
things that they must unlearn as they grow older, and school-teachers 
can do no greater service to education than to point out the errors 
that should be eradicated from text-books. 

Very respectfully yours, 

ALBERT A. POPE, President. 



8 Errors in Scliool- Boohs, 

This circular attracted the immediate attention of teachers 
of public schools of all grades, professors in colleges and 
universities, publishers of educational journals and school 
text-books. The plan receiyed from the first the hearty com- 
mendation of teachers, who entered into the contest eagerl}', 
many avowing the prize a secondary consideration. Space 
will permit us to give but a few extracts from their letters 
expressing approval. They are as follows : — 

" . . . . Hope that it may be the means of helping, at least a little, 

in the endeavor to have text-books free from error " 

" .... It certainly should be encouraged with great enthusiasm. 

" . . . . Whether you agree with me or not, I will be very glad to 
hear from you as the subject is of interest to me " 

" . . . . Having become interested in the matter of errors in text- 
books, I take it as a privilege to be able to call attention to another 
very grievous mistake which I discovered in 's Grammar. ..." 

" . . . . Since this point relates to so important a matter, I will be 
glad to have it investigated, and hope that in its correction a step may 
be taken towards an improvement in our English grammars. ..." 

" .... It gives me great pleasure to see the interest you take in 
education " 

" .... I agree with you that a crusade against mistakes in our 
text-books would be beneficial to sound knowledge " 

" . . . . Misstatements annoy me always, and especially when 
taught in our schools. Trusting you may be instrumental in correct- 
ing many such " 

" . . . . Thanking you for the advantages that must accrue to 
pupils and teachers from your enterprising offer whether I am among 
the chosen few, I am, nevertheless " 

" .... I shall rejoice if your plan succeeds in eradicating the 
mistakes from our text-books " 

" . . . . Hoping you will have great success in your crusade 
against poor instruction " 

These expressions and many others, of which we were the 
recipients, encouraged us to re-issue the circular, with the 
following addenda : — 

The result of this offer has been to create a deep and wide-spread 
interest, and a large number of errors were pointed out by teachers. 



Errors in School-Books. 9 

Letters are received from educators throughout the country com- 
mendatory of the effort to eliminate misstatements of facts in school- 
books, and urging that the corrections be published. Before taking 
this step we desire to communicate with the authors and publishers, 
to ascertain if there be any serious objections to such a course. 

In connection with the subject we wish to pay the highest possible 
tribute to the excellence and thoroughness of the text-books of the 
schools of the United States, and we recognize that even with the 
greatest of care errors will creep into all human work, be it what it 
may. It will be remembered that there was an edition of the Bible 
printed in which through inadvertence the word " not " was omitted 
in one of the commandments. What greater service can be rendered 
than to see to it that children are taught truth and not error ? In 
doing this work all that are engaged in it must feel that it is the per- 
formance of a duty of inestimable value. 

To illustrate what has been stated as to the oareful manner in 
which school-books have been prepared, it may be said that there has 
been sent to us but one misstatement in Webster's Dictionary, and 
but two in Prof. Fiske's " Civil Government in the United States." 
The grammar-school geographies apparently have been the most pro- 
lific in errors. 

The above original offer was a Columbia Expert Bicycle to the 
person from whom we should first receive a misstatement. In re- 
sponse to the circular we received a number of replies and will for- 
ward to the school-teacher first on the list the prize bicycle. We 
regret to state that in a few instances an apparent misunderstanding 
of the circular, due probably to its being published in some newspapers 
in a condensed form, has caused some persons to suppose that a bicycle 
would be given for every error sent to us. A glance at the original 
offer will convince anyone to the contrary. However, as we have 
had our attention called by some teachers to a number of noteworthy 
errors in text-books, we have also decided to present them with a 
bicycle. The machine will be of the same pattern as that of the prize 
bicycle mentioned above. The awards will be made as soon as the 
errors can be verified and the replies from the text-book writers and 
publishers printed. We wish to state that we believe that it would 
tend to the advancement of education if an association were to be 
formed for the special purpose of eliminating errors from school and 
college text-books. Instructors, writers, and publishers should be 
invited to become members. Substantial awards should be offered 
for the detection of errors. 



10 Errors in ScJiool-Books. 

To aid in the formation of such an association we would be glad to 
have the privilege of giving one hundred dollars. We should also be 
pleased to receive communications and suggestions from teachers and 
others interested, with a view of laying the matter before some of the 
leading educators of the country, in hopes that they will form the 
association. 

All communications relating to this circular should be addressed to 
the Department of Education. 

Very respectfully yours, 

ALBERT A. POPE, President. 

March 28, 1892. 

Thousands of these circulars were distributed throughout 
the United States from Maine to Oregon, and our suggestion 
that an organized society, whose purpose should be the elimi- 
nation of errors, was favorably received by several teachers. 
We herewith insert extracts of a few of the letters received, 
testifying to particular, and indicating general, approbation. 

" .... I will help form a society, such as you spoke of in your 
printed circular " 

" .... I am certainly much pleased at the idea expressed in your 
circular. It is that of forming an association for eliminating errors 
in text-books. Such a move would stimulate investigation and result 
in no small profit " 

" .... I think the idea a good one. How would it do to get the 
New England Journal of Education into it? I think that the various 
publishers would favor it. I hope your scheme will be carried out. 

" .... I heartily concur in what you say about the formation of 
an association for the purpose of eliminating errors from school text- 
books " 

'*.... Permit me to compliment you on the work you have 
undertaken. The organization you speak of would be an excellent 
thing. I would suggest that you print the errors sent in, and send 
copies to all who contributed " 

" . . . . Permit me to congratulate you upon the thoroughness 
with which you are sustaining to the end the work you have under- 
taken " 

'*....! consider it absolutely impossible for any one author to 
produce a work whose every statement will stand the fire of criticisms. 
Nevertheless, the compilers of many of the modern text-books come 



Errors in School-Books. 11 

in for a large share of blame on the score of pure carelessness, their 
errors and misstatements disappearing from their works only after 
repeated editions have been published. I look for inestimable good 
to result from the investigations you have incited, and if the replies to 
your circular will take the scope and magnitude that I think they 
will, and these replies are compiled and classified, the result will be a 
publication of permanent value to every teacher as well as a source 
of satisfaction to every lover of truth and exactness " 

It may interest the reader to know something of what the 
Educational Department has done since the inauguration of 
the "contest," by the issuance of the first circular and the 
promised presentation of bicycles as specified in the second. 

When the contest was declared closed the department had 
received from teachers two hundred and twenty-four letters 
and eleven postal cards, and these two hundred and thirty-five 
communications represent one hundred and sixtj^-eight alleged 
errors, criticisms, and letters sent subsequent to the criticisms, 
naming authority for the objection, which was almost invaria- 
bly called for in event of the critic's failing to indicate such 
in his first letter. 

As each alleged error was received it was conscientiously 
copied, word for word, and submitted to the publishers and 
authors, and their replies were copied, word for word, and 
forwarded to the critic. 

The greatest number of errors were alleged to appear in 
Geographies, these amounting in all to thirty-eight. Histo- 
ries and Arithmetics were next most strongly assailed, twenty- 
one and nineteen criticisms, respectively, standing in the col- 
umns against them. Grammar, Natural History, and Readers, 
with sixteen, twelve, and ten, were next most available to the 
critical, while Chemistry with eight, Languages, Etymology, 
and Civil Government seven each, and Physiology with six," 
follow closely in the order named. Geometry seems compara- 
tively free from error, with but four against it, and Geology 
and miscellaneous criticisms number two each. Definition, 
Zoology, English, Anatomy, Astronomy, Botany, Drawing, 
Trigonometry, and Political Economy complete the list, each 
being accredited with but one alleged error. 



12 Errors in School-Books. 

Upon our determination to inaugurate a contest such as 
has just taken place, we at once submitted the plan to many 
publishing houses, some of whom deprecated the move we 
were about to make, and condemned us for interfering in 
something which as manufacturers of Columbia Bicycles in 
no way concerned us. Having the teachers upon our side, 
and a legitimate object to accomplish, we should have con- 
tinued in spite of any and all opposition. The injury of the 
school-book publishing business was not our ambition, and 
we told them so plainly. We desired to conduct the contest 
in a way which would be to their interest, and that due 
credit would be accorded to the correction of each and every 
error which appeared in any form in their books. As a result 
a majority of publishers joined heartily in correcting errors, 
and in adding qualifying statements and explanatory notes. 

Of the ninety errors alleged against the publications of the 
American Book Co., twenty-three proved to be errors actually. 
But when the fact that they published about sixteen hundred 
different school text-books is taken into consideration, and 
that these have been subjected to a searching critical scrutiny, 
stimulated by the hope of reward, it must be conceded that 
they have withstood a marvelously severe test, and have come 
off with flying colors. Against Messrs. Ginn & Co., of Boston, 
who publish five hundred different books, two errors were 
proved out of eight alleged, and they have every reason to 
feel proud of this record. Of the two errors alleged to appear 
in publications of the University Publishing Co. one was 
admitted. One error each alleged, and that error admitted, 
is the record of Houghton, Mifflin & Co., publishers of about 
three hundred different school-books, and P. Blakiston, Son 
& Co., publishers of about four hundred medical works ; while 
Henry Holt & Co. were pleased to admit one error out of 
nine alleged. Messrs. E. H. Butler & Co., with five errors, 
acknowledged out of twelve charged, certainly sustain the 
reputation of their house, while in justice to them it should 
be stated that the Butler list was fully doubled Sept. 1, 1891, 
by the consolidation of Messrs. Cowperthwaite & Co., wlio 
prepared and were originally the publishers of Warren's 



Errors in School -Books. 13 

geographies and some of the other books from which errors 
were taken by teachers. 

Too much stress cannot be laid upon the inducement which 
invited teachers to point out errors, and their earnestness 
and eagerness to be among the first often led some of them 
to become hypercritical, and sometimes not a little unreason- 
able in their objections to certain teachings. 

We quote from one of these letters, a portion of which 
reads as follows : — 

" I would call your attention to page 180, last paragraph, ' In this 
continent of ours,' second book of Picturesque Readers, by Charles 
F. King, Master of the Dearborn School, Boston. In this paragraph 
referred to is this statement : ' When very fat, a cod does not bite very 
readily.' Now a ' fat' cod was never caught on Cape Cod, or seen by any 
of the people here or elsewhere. A 'fat' cod causes the Cape Codder 
to smile, as a cod is not or never was ' fat.' Yours, 

P. S. — Even the children smile at the mistake." 

This is a fair sample of some of the objections, and such as 
this have not been unfrequent. One teacher writes as fol- 
lows : — 

"If you will look on page of Monteith's Geography you will 

find the following : ' When and by whom was North America dis- 
covered ? In the year 1492, by Christopher Columbus.' This is an 
error. . . . The honor belongs to John Cabot." 

To this the natural reply is, the Bahamas and West Indies 
are properly taught in all geographies as being a part of North 
America. 

As a rule, the correspondence that has passed through us 
from teacher to publishers and authors and back again has 
been exceedingly interesting, highly instructive, and we re- 
gret that it is impossible to publish it, for it would make a 
valuable and helpful publication. For the reason that it 
would not be well to perpetuate an error by calling atten- 
tion to it in a pamphlet of this kind, which we hope to circu- 
late broadly, we shall only display the statements as they will 
substantially appear after correction. There are thirty-four 
of these, and we leave the reader to judge of their importance. 



14 Errors in School-Boohs, 

The corrections to be made by the American Book Co. are 
as follows : — 

]\orton's Elements of ]\atiiral Philosophy. 

" 'The fixed stars annually radiate sufficient heat to the earth to melt 
an envelope of ice 80 feet thick.'" Ira 0. Baker, 

Champaign, 111. 

" . . . . We do not believe that the fixed stars radiate anything 
like this amount of heat to the earth, and shall make proper correc- 
tion in the book. Whether the author quoted correctly some errone- 
ous statement is a matter which we cannot decide. We think it 
probable, however, that he misquoted an accurate statement, and that 
this should be considered a misstatement of fact." 

American Book Co. 

Petermaii's Elements of Civil €fOvernnient. 

The definition of poll-tax conveyed a wrong impression. 
The corrected statement will read substantially — 

" . . . . After a certain age, usually twenty-one." 

P. F. BuRTCH, Morrison, 111. 
" Erroneous as criticised, and has been corrected." 

American Book Co. 

Peterman's Elements or Civil Ccovernment. 

" Against the teachings in Peterman's Elements of Civil Govern- 
ment, touching the power of the Legislature to suspend laws, examine 
Article XX of the Declaration of Rights of the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts, which reads : ' The power of suspending the laws, or 
the execution of the laws, ought never to be exercised but by the 

Legislature or by the authority derived from it " 

II. A. Macgowan, Scituate, Mass. 

" . . . . Erroneous as criticised, and has been corrected " 

American Book Co. 

Steele's Fourteen fVeeks in Zoolog^y. 

" ' The hog's skull is adapted to rooting in the ground for food, as 
the canines project horizontally.'" P. F. Burtch, 

Morrison, 111. 

"This should be incisors and not canines. A proper change will 
be made in the plates." American Book Co. 



Errors in School- Boohs. 15 

Harvey's Graded Speller. 

"The root of the word polish h po, and not as given " 

Edward Manley, Bloomington, 111. 

" Permit us to say that we think the criticism well taken, and shall 

make a suitable change in the plates " 

American Book Co. 



Eclectic Elementary Crcog'raphy. 

" The definition of climate does not agree with this in the Century 
Dictionary : ' The characteristic condition of a country or region, in 
respect to amount of variation of heat and cold, moisture and dryness, 
wind and calm, etc., weather is a state of the air or atmosphere with 
respect to its meteorological phenomena.' Also, ' The atmospheric 
condition prevailing at any moment over any region of the earth.'" 

Jessie R. Tarbox, Williamsburg, Mass. 

" We will make it to read, ' Climate is closely connected with 
weather.' The kind of weather that is usual to a place is said to be 
the climate of that place " American Book Co. 



Swintoii's English Crraimuar. 

" Analysis of sentence. ' The ocean is as deep as the mountains 

are hWh ' This statement is not true, for both the adverb 

and the clause are modifiers of the adjective deep " 

R. B. Cunningham, 

Rock Hill, S. C. 

" . . . . We have received a letter today from Mr. Cunningham. 
It seems that we did not fully catch his point from your copy of his 
criticism, but he has made himself clear in his letter 

" We will add a clause to the passage that will remove all possible 
ambio-uity " American Book Co. 

l^wintoii's Grainniar-School Crcography. 

"'Now, the north pole, or more correctly the earth's axis, points 
about one degree, thirty minutes, from the north star.' . . . ." 

Peter C. Knapp, 
Cold Spring, N. Y. 

" . . . . Erroneous as criticised, and has been corrected." 

American Book Co. 



16 Errors in School-Boohs, 

Harper's Foorfh Reader. 

"....' I am going in,' said the white morning-glory vine. Then 
it began to creep through a crack in the window frame, and in a 
week's time it hung in a lovely festoon from the curtain and had 
thrown its slender tendrils [?] around the marble statue of the little 
angel." William H. Huse, 

Manchester, N. H. 

''.... Statement has been changed to conform to fact." 

American Book Co. 

Townseifid's Civil Govern nient. 

" According to the law of the United States, there is an exception 
touching the subject of naturalization, — for it is possible ' for a soldier 
who served one year in the United States Army, and having obtained 
an honorable discharge, to become a citizen of the United States, on 
making oath to these facts and taking the oath of allegiance.' . . ." 

George Van Ylack, Jamestown, N. Y. 

" We will change the plates and note the exception to which the 
critic calls attention.'* American Book Co. 



Barnes' Complete Creo^raphy. (Iowa and Mo. edition.) 

" A statement is made in regard to the judicial power of Iowa. . . . 
There is no Circuit Court in Iowa, and has not been for some years. 
. . . . " Miss Mollie Thompson, 

Parkersburg, Iowa. 

'• Erroneous as criticised, and has been corrected." 

American Book Co. 

Barnes' Complete Cceos^raphy. 

" .... In Barnes' Complete Geography you will find the state- 
ment This is an error. As a matter of fact, the earth turns 

on its axis 366^ times a year ; but as a solar day is some four minutes 
longer than a sidereal day (the exact time of the earth's rotation on 
its axis), on account of the earth's onward motion in its orbit, there 
are but 365:^ days in the year. This is a noted error, and is probably 
in many text-books." George Morris Phillips, 

West Chester, Pa. 

" Erroneous as criticised, and has been corrected." 

American Book Co. 



Errors in School- BooJcs. 17 

Eg^g^leston's History or the United iStates. 

" Should state that General Robert E. Lee was born on Jannary J^ 

19, 1807 " C. H. Hill, Romney, W. Va. 

*'.... Erroneous as criticised, and has been corrected." 

American Book Co. 

Quackenbos^ rVatural Philosophy. 

" There is a misstatement of fact in Quackenbos' Natural Philoso- 
phy concerning the velocity with which sounds, ' whether loud or 
faint, high or low, are transmitted by a given medium/ . . . /' 

George H. Tracy, Bristol, Conn. 

" This statement, that there are sounds which, high or low, are 
transmitted by a given medium with equal rapidity, is not strictly 
true, and we modify it accordingly." American Book Co. 



Quackenbos' IVatural Piiilosophy. 

**....* Thus we see that water is raised in pumps of atmospheric 
pressure. The air will support a column of water 32 to 34 feet high. 
To this elevation^ therefore, water can be raised with the lifting-pump.' 

"• There are many wells fifty feet deep from which water is drawn 
by the lifting pump. The sentence underlined in question above 
might read: 'If it is required to raise water from a well of great 
depth, then this, the piston-rod, can be made long enough to keep the 
piston within 32 feet of the surface of the water, and the water raised 
above the piston by atmospheric pressure can be lifted by the piston and 
rod to any height required.' " Lewis E. Smith, Portsmouth, N. H. 

" . . . . Modification of this statement regarding the lifting-pump 
will be made " American Book Co. 

Quackenbos' History of the United States. 

"....' The number of mounds erected by the early and civilized 
inhabitants of this continent is variously estimated.' There are about 
twelve thousand in the State of Ohio alone. 

" On the same page : ' Among the most remarkable fortifications 
are those near Newark, Ohio.' Newark, Ohio, is not given a correct 
geographical location. It should read: 'At the junction of two 
branches of the Licking River.' " J. W. Van Sickle, LL.D., 

Springfield, Ohio. 

" . . . . We have chanijed the statement " 

American Book Co. 



18 Errors in School-Boohs, 

Ray's IVew Hig^her Arithmetic. 

" . . . . On page 203 will be found this problem : ^ How large 
sales must I make in a year at a profit of eight per cent to clear 
82000 ? ' The answer given is evidently a mistake of the author, 
who himself took the cost of goods for the amount of sales. The cost 
is $25,000, and in order to clear $2000 he must make sales amount- 
ing to $27,000 " W. H. BoDEN, Mineral, Ohio. 

" . . . . This answer should be $27,000, and the plates have been 
changed accordingly." American Book Co. 

monteith's First-Part €reog:raphy. 

" .... In Monteith's First-Part Geography is the question, 
'Which is inland?' the same referring to the inland countries of 
South America " E. P. Gifford, North Middletown, Ky. 

" . . . . There are two inland countries in South America, and 
the verb in the question, ' Which is inland ? ' shall be changed accord- 
ingly to ' are.' " American Book Co. 

ITlonteith's Geo§^raphy. 

"....* The axis of the earth is an imaginary line on which it 
performs its daily motion.' The claim I have is this : that, according 
to a geometric definition of a line, which has length only, that is no 
more an ' imaginary line ' than the State line between Massachusetts 
and Connecticut, or any other arbitrary line. In fact, there is no 
such thing as an ' imaginary line ' in the true sense of the word. No 
one ever saw a line or perceived it by any of his five senses." 

W. C. Ramsey, Stockton, Cal. 

" . . . . This shall be changed by striking out the word ' imagi- 
nary.' . . . ." American Book Co. 

Wells' Science of Common Thing's. 

" . . . . The following statement and question appear : ' In a sheet 
of water at noon the sun appears to shine only on one side and all the 
rest of the water is dark. Why is this ? ' The answer is not true. 
All the rays of the sun comhig to our earth are practicalJy parallel 

and reflected parallel " Dr. John Spare, A.M., 

New Bedford, Mass. 

" .... A modification of this statement is required here, which 
we take pleasure in making. The critic is right in stating that both 



Errors in School-Books. 19 

the incident and the reflected rays of the sun are practically parallel. 
We see the reflected image by those rays only which enter our eye. 
The other direct rays reflected from the water's surface do not enter 
the eye, and hence the surface outside the reflected image of the sun 
appears relatively dark." American Book Co. 

Barnes' Brief Bistory of the United States. 

" In Barnes' Brief History of the United States the following ob- 
jection is taken to the statement that ' He [General Lyon] fell gal- 
lantly leading a bayonet charge.' As a matter of fact, the army under 
Lyon's immediate control were not supplied with bayonets." 

Richard Rohrer, Junction City, Kan. 

" .... In regard to the criticism of the fall of Gen. Lyon, while 
' leading a bayonet charge,' would say that we are unable to find any 
authority for the critic's position that there were no bayonets in the 
possession of the 5000 men constituting Lyon's force at that time; 
nor do we find the statement made in any of our authorities that the 
force was supplied with bayonets. The essential fact is that Lyon 
fell while gallantly leading a charge. We shall therefore remove the 
word ' bayonet ' before the next edition is printed, thus disarming our 
critic's objection without changing the sense of the statement. . . ." 

American Book Co. 



Sirinton's Outline of the l¥orld's Bistory. 

" In this history Servius Tullius is given a wrong numerical posi- 
tion in the line of the kings of Rome. There were seven kings in all, 
as the author himself says, Tarquines Superbus being the seventh and 
last, his predecessor, Servius Tullius, must have been the sixth." 

L. R. Levering, Nazareth, Pa. 

" . . . . Servius Tullius was the sixth king of Rome, and not . . . 
as stated in the text. The plates have been corrected .accordingly." 

American Book Co. 



IViles' Bistorv. 

" In this history the date of the birth of Henry Clay near Rifch- 
mond, Va., is erroneously given." Harold J. Fay, 

Westborough, Mass. 

**.... Concerning the date of the birth of Henry Clay ; this 
should be 1777. A proper correction in the plates will be made. . ." 

American Book Co. 



20 Errors in School-Books, 

Butler's Elementary Oeog^raphy. 

" In the map questions on North America, the last question in the 
second paragraph : ' What strait connects the Caribbean Sea. with the 
Atlantic Ocean ? ' On the map there is no strait named." 

Miss S. C. Denison, Pittsford, Vt. 

" .... In regard to what strait connects the Caribbean Sea with 
the Atlantic Ocean, it is well founded so far as the book which the 
teacher had is concerned. A correction had been made on the map 
but apparently overlooked in the map questions. . . . . " 

E. H. Butler & Co. 



Butler's Elementary Oeog^raphy. 

" On page 57 another discrepiancy in a statement concerning Rut- 
land, Vt." Miss S. C. Denison, 

Pittsford, Vt. 
" In regard to Rutland, Vt., she is possibly literally and strictly cor- 
rect, although in any other section of the country Rutland would be 
accepted as a city. We have reduced it to the ranks, however." 

E. H. Butler & Co. 



Butler's Complete Creo§^raphy. 

" . . . . On page 110 I find a statement concerning the Hoang Ho 
River which is not true. The Hoang Ho River now discharges its 
waters into the Gulf of Pe Chee Lee. It formerly discharged its 
waters into the Yellow Sea, about 200 miles north of the mouth of 

the Yang-tse-Kiang " T. C. Clotd, 

Morrisville, 111. 

" We are in receipt of your letter in reference to page 110, Butler's 
Complete Geography. This note is not absolutely incorrect, as the 
Hoang Ho, according to Chinese records, did formerly flow into the 
Gulf of Pe Chee Lee, at about the mouth of the Pei Ho. In the last 
twenty-five hundred years the river has changed its course nine times. 
Immediately prior to 1851, however, it flowed into the Yellow Sea, 
and within two years from that date had forced a passage into the 
Gulf of Pe Chee Lee, nearly three hundred miles north of its former 
mouth. While the statements contained in the note are correct, yet 
we can easily see how a wrong impression might be produced, and we 
will therefore modify the wording accordingly." 

E. H. Butler & Co. 



Errors in School-Books. 21 

Warren's IVew Physical Geogrraphy. 1890 Edition. 

'' The definition of temperature is wrong, for by all authorities tem- 
perature is held to be the intensity of heat or degrees of heat or cold, 
the amount of heat being measured in calories." 

J. Paul Go ode, Morehead, Minn. 

" .... In reply we have to admit that the statement in regard 
to heat is not technically correct, and we will therefore have it modi- 
fied " E. H. Butler & Co. 

Tl^arren's Common School Geography. 

" This book does not state correctly the proportion in area that the 
European peninsulas bear to Europe entire. The author of the above 
is at variance with another of his own works, Warren's Primary 
Geography." Miss Mary F. Roome, 

Clarendon Hills, Mass. 

" . . . . This is one of the mistakes we purchased, and we assure 
you we will have it corrected " E. H. Butler & Co. 



Rcmsen's Elements of Chemistry. 

" Here appears an erroneous statement concerning the formation of 
a salt by the action of an acid on metal : ' Every metal can form a 
salt with every acid.' " F. W. Harkins, Chicago, 111. 

" The statement on page 93 is erroneous and it will be changed at 
the first opportunity, and I thank my critic for calling attention to it. 
A letter addressed to me when this error was first discovered would 
have received prompt attention, and I regret that my critic did not 
inform me at that time " (Signed) Ira Remsen. 

"... We wish to renew our thanks to you for services rendered." 

Henry Holt & Co. 

Potter's Anatomy. 1891 Edition. 

"The correct definition of 'coronoid' should be like a crow's beak 
instead of the definition now given." Carleton Mitchell, 

Tuscaloosa, Ala. 

" . . . . We beg to thank you for calling our attention to the error 
in Potter's Anatomy, and will be very glad to have notes of any mis- 
takes found in other books published by us." 

P. Blakiston, Son & Co. 



22 Errors in School-Boohs. 

Fiske's Civil Government. 

" On page 278 there appears an erroneous statement concerning the 
date fixed bj act of Congress, Feb. 3, 1887, for the meeting of the 
electoral colleges in all States. The act referred to above fixes the 
second Monday in January as the time of meeting of the electoral 
colleges " C. M. Parker, Taylorsville, 111. 

''.... We thank you for calling our attention to the error re- 
ferred to in your previous letter. We shall be glad to have you men- 
tion the fact that this error was discovered and corrected at your 
instigation " Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 



Oreenou^ti's Virg^il. 

"In a note to line 116, Book 2, JEneid, Aulis is given a geograph- 
ical location not correct." A. H. Abbott, Farmington, Me. 

" . . . . The note should read that Aulis was on the Eubcean 
Strait. We are grateful for having this called to our attention." 

GiNN & Co. 

Knox-Heath's Elementary Lessons in English. 

"....' When we meet again,' ^ And when you say the word,' 
should be called clauses. . . ." C. H. Collier, Memphis, Tenn. 

" Replying further to yours of recent date we beg to say the criti- 
cism upon the statement as it is found in Knox-Heath's Grammar is 
well founded, and the book will be corrected." Ginn & Co. 



Sanford's Common School Arithmetic, 

" . . . . On page 267 you will find this erroneous teaching in bank 
discount. . . . To see that this is a misstatement of facts all you have 
to do is to draw your note on any bank in Boston conforming to the 
above conditions, and take the said note to the bank and have them 
discount it. The true statement of the facts governing the above case 
is as follows : ' When a note drawing interest is discounted at a bank 
the discount is computed on the amount at the time of its maturity.' 

" I would further ask you to examine the same work referred to 
above, page 268, examples 1 and 4. These two examples, taken in 
connection with the remarks stated in my last question, clearly indi- 
cate that the author has made a mistake in the facts or principles by 
which such questions should be solved." H. T. Lyttleton, 

Marshall, Texas. 



Errors in School-Books* 23 

The above questions were submitted to the University 
Publishing Co., who responded as follows : — 

" The statement regarding bank discount seems to be proper, and 
the example mentioned as incorrect has the right answer attached. 
We shall be very glad to have you send us all the criticisms on our 
books which you may receive from your correspondents, and errors 
which are clearly such, or can be so proved by reliable authority, will 
bs cheerfully rectified. "We would observe that it is a simple matter 
to claim a thing is wrong, but another to substitute a correct state- 
ment. "We would suggest that your correspondent state clearly where- 
in our text-books under consideration are in error, and what should 
be the correct statement." 

This communication we copied and forwarded to the critic 
in Texas, who, being properly persistent in a matter in which, 
he was confident he was right, began a correspondence with 
the University Publishing Co., who subsequent!}^ wrote us 
that they had received a letter from our Texas correspondent. 
Later we received a communication from Mr. Lyttleton, who 
encloses the following letter from the publishing company : 

" H. T. Lyttleton, Esq., 

Principal Marshall Normal School, Marshall, Texas, 
Dear Sir : — 

"We have your esteemed favor of May 26th regarding the criticism 
of Sanford's Arithmetic. The criticism reported to us by the Pope 
Mfg. Co. related to the treatment of ' Bank Discount,' on pages 267 
and 268 of Sanford's Common School Arithmetic. 

The response from us quoted to you by the Pope Mfg. Co. seems 
to have been hastily made. "We shall communicate with Prof. San- 
ford regarding the proper modification to be made in Article 250-262^ 
The solution of example in Article 259 states principle of bank dis- 
count correct, except the inclusion of days of grace, which is ex- 
plained in Article 262. It would be better to explain days of grace 
before solving an illustrative example, and thus enable to make the 

solution a complete modification of the method to be pursued 

"We are glad to have our attention called to this matter, as we are 
always pleased to be advised of errors in any of our books. Please 
let us hear from you. Does the view given above coincide with 



yours ? 



University Publishing Co." 



24 Errors in School-Boohs, 

We have received the following note in reference to the 
above : — 

" The solution of example in Article 259 states the principle of bank 
discount correctly, except the inclusion of days of grace, which is ex- 
plained a few lines below in Article 262. It would be better to explain 
days of grace before solving an illustrated example, and thus be able 
to make the solution a complete exemplification all in one illustration 
of the method to be pursued. AYe thank you for calling our atten- 
tion to this matter, as we are always desirous that the teachings of 

our books should be in the plainest form." 

University PuBnaHiNo Co. 

The task we have undertaken has entailed no inconsider- 
able amount of labor and patience ; and had it not been that 
the publishers joined with us in this good work in the manner 
that they have, we are obliged to admit that we could not 
have accomplished what we have with so little annoyance. 
We remember in our correspondence of but one instance 
where the publisher has answered us in anything but a satis- 
factory manner. The criticism, it seemed to us, and does seem, 
was reasonable and correct, and being such we print it with 
as much readiness as though the publisher had fallen into 
his and our way of thinking and changed his plates accord- 
ingly. The correspondence is as follows ; — 

Potter's Neir Elementary Geography. 

"Page 10, lesson 2, paragraph 1, 'It [meaning the sun] really 
stands still.' " J. F. Millspaugh, Salt Lake City, Utah. 

To this the publishers replied : — 

" Relating to the two (alleged errors) you name, we beg to say that 
the one on page 10 of the Elementary is correct according to public 
estimation, as the sun is supposed to stand still, and for all practical 
purposes does stand still." 

Without desiring to insult the intelligence of the pub- 
lishers, yet wishing to re-enforce the position taken by the 
critic, and approved of by us, we sent to Messrs. John E. 
Potter & Co., publishers of the work in question, a copy of 
an excellent article which appeared in the April Century^hy 
Prof, Edward S. Holden, of tlie Lick Observatory. 



JErrors in School-Boohs. 25 

" We know that the sun turns on its axis once in about twenty-five 
days. Its equator remains always in one plane. The earth revolves 
about the sun in a plane which is inclined to the plane of the sun's 
equator by about 70 degrees ; that is, the earth is sometimes seven 
degrees above (in September), sometimes seven degrees below (in 
March), the plane of the sun's equator. The effect is that sometimes 
one pole of the sun, sometimes the other, is turned toward a spectator 
on the earth. Now we know that the sun is covered with spots, con- 
fined to two belts which roughly correspond in situation to the tem- 
perate zones on the earth. These belts may be compared to regions 
covered with geysers which are perpetffally sending out matter from 
their interiors. This matter is shot out perpendicular to the surface 
with high velocity, something like three hundred to four hundred 
miles per second. Now, if the sun did not revolve on its axis we 
could make a model to represent this state of things by sticking 
straight needles into a sphere of cork all around the temperate zones. 
The needles would represent the streams of matter shot up from the 
solar surface. But the sun rotates on its axis, and therefore the 
needles in a proper model must be curved and not straight." 

The same article gives the diameter of the sun as eight 
hundred and fifty thousand miles. Therefore, in round num- 
bers, the rotation of the sun on its axis must cause a body on 
its surface to moNQ four times as fast as a body on the surface 
of the earth. 

Instead of accomplishing the result we had hoped for, it 
seemed to have anything but the desired effect, as the follow- 
ing will indicate. 

" Gentlemen : — 

Your favor of the 26th duly received and we note what you say. 
We are not astronomers, and have given this subject very little atten- 
tion, so that we cannot enter into the argument with you about it. 
The commonly received opinion is that the sun stands still, and for 
all practical purposes this seems to be sufficient to say about it. It is 
very likely it does not stand still, but the sun is too far away to know 
very much about it definitely. If you wish to get learned views about 
it, you will have to see higher authority than the publishers of a 
geography. Very truly yours, 

John E. Potter & Co." 



26 Errors in School-Books, 

Up to this point we have named onl}^ those publishers 
whose works, containing the errors described, necessitated 
changes, but we take the opportunity to thank the following 
publishers, whose books successfully withstood the criticisms 
which were made against them : — 

D. Appleton & Co., New York. 

Charles Collins, New York. 

The Columbia Book Co., of St. Louis. 

Dyrsen & Pfeiaffer, New York. 

Educational Publishing Co., Boston, Mass. 

Effingham, Maynard & Co., New York. 

Eldredge & Bro., Philadelphia. 

Harper & Bros.^ New York.* 

Leach, Shewell & Sanborn, Boston, Mass. 

J. B. LiPPiNCOTT Co., Philadelphia. 

Macmillan & Co., New York. 

G. & C. Merriam & Co., Springfield, Mass. 

Silver, Burdett & Co., Boston, Mass. 

Sheldon & Co., New York. 

William Wood & Co., New York. 

We received among our correspondence several suggestions 
to be applied to any contests that maybe inaugurated in the 
future, one of which we append. 

" . . . . Keferring to your circular of the 28th, which I have just 
received, permit me to express my appreciation of the worth of your 
ideas and my interest in your plans. Will you allow me to suggest 
that while misstatements of fact occurring in text-books are of grave 
importance, mistakes in methods are of vastly greater importance, as 
they are calculated to produce much greater results for evil ? It is 
bad for a child to learn that the earth moves around the sun in a cir- 
cle ; it is incomparably worse to have him get hold of the subject by 
the wrong end. If you wish to put your bicycle where it will do the 
most good for education in this country, why not offer a prize, similar 
to the one you are about to award, to the one who shall point out the 



most grievous error in method ? 



* Harper's Introductory Geography, in which an error was pointed out in our circular 
and acknowledged, is published by the American Book Co., and not by Harper & Bros. 



Errors in School-Boohs, 27 

The greatest error of all those discovered in school-books 
was the omission to teach the great need and importance of 
the construction and maintenance of good roads throughout 
the country. It was an error of omission far greater than 
any error of commission of which authors or publishers w^ere 
guilty. The three R's, reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic had 
been well provided for, but instruction in the fourth R — 
Roads — had been apparently wholly overlooked, with the 
exception of an article on Highways in " The Information 
Reader," by Robert Lewis, Ph.D., published by the Boston 
School Supply Co. 

The time has now come when the public demand that there 
be better roads. The leading newspapers of the country are 
agitating the subject. A Memorial of over one hundred 
printed pages, which contained letters from President Harri- 
son and several members of his cabinet, from many United 
States Senators and Representatives, from Governors of the 
States, Army Officers, Presidents of the leading universities 
and colleges of the country, was prepared under the direction 
of the President of the Pope Manufacturing Co., and sub- 
mitted to Congress in July, that the attention of legislators 
might be drawn to the need of better roads. 

But it is the school-teachers of the country who can do 
most in bringing about this great reform of good roads, by 
teaching the young, who in a few short years will be the 
people of the United States, what it is to have good high- 
ways. Children should be taught that good roads are great 
civilizing, educational, and moral agents; they bind commu- 
nities together by providing easy means of communication, 
w^ith all the advantages of traffic and the interchange of 
products ; they render the school, academy, and college acces- 
sible, and the church and Sunday-school available. 

Country life would become far more attractive, and aban- 
doned farms less frequent, if there were good roads. One of 
the most serious evils society has now to contend "with is the 
problem of " city slums," with its accompanying high death 
rate. The present labor troubles, which loom so ominously 
in manufacturing, mining, and railroad centres, are another 



28 Errors in School-Boohs. 

reason why there should be a return to the earlier conditions 
of life in the United States, when the greater part of the 
population lived in the country. 

The education of children in road building should begin in 
the kindergarten. Their blocks should be adapted to build- 
ing roads and bridges; as they advance in knowledge they 
should from time to time be taught the importance of good 
roads, and the best method of their construction and main- 
tenance ; at college or at the university they should attend a 
course in highway construction, while probably no career 
would give greater success to the average college graduate 
than that of road engineer. 

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology there has 
been established, for about two years, an instructorship for 
the purpose of educating road engineers. 

Harvard University has begun to appreciate the great need 
of educating engineers, and has opened a Road Department 
at the Lawrence Scientific School. Graduates of this school 
will be given the University degree of Road Engineer. 

It is proposed to establish at Washington a permanent 
road exhibit and a college for the instruction of road engi- 
neers. School-teachers should do all that they can to lay the 
foundation of such instruction, as the knowledge is of such a 
practical and useful character that no matter what may be 
one's station in life, whether public or private, the ability to 
construct a good highway will always be of benefit. 

ALBERT A. POPE. 



Errors in School-Books. 29 



OPINIONS OF PUBLISHEES OF SCHOOL-BOOKS. 



" . . . . We shall be glad to correct any errors in our school publi- 
cations to which our attention may be called. This is no new position 
on our part. It is that which we and our predecessors in this business 
have maintained for over half a century. To this extent we shall be 
very glad to co-operate with you, or with any one, in freeing the text- 
books of this country from error. 

" From long experience in book-making we are convinced that it 
is, humanly speaking, impossible to produce a book that shall be abso- 
lutely accurate and free from error. Our efforts and our money are 
being constantly directed, however, to approximating more nearly to 
perfection. That our efforts have not been entirely barren of result 
needs no other proof than a comparison of the American text-books 
of today with those published in any other country, or with those 
published in America ten, fifteen, twenty, or more years ago. ..." 

" . . . . We appreciate the great importance of accuracy of state- 
ment in text-books, and not only expend large sums of money annually 
in maintaining an Editorial Department to make our publications 
accurate, but are always grateful to any one who, by calling our atten- 
tion to an existing error, gives us the opportunity to correct it. . . . " 

" . . . . We enclose herewith our comments upon the long list of 
criticisms which you sent to us on the 22d of April, and also the 
several criticisms submitted since that date. We have examined each 
one of these criticisms carefully, and through them have had our atten- 
tion called to several errors. While a majority of the points criticised 
are not erroneous, and while several of the statements that we have 
changed can hardly be deemed errors so much as ambiguous or incom- 
plete statements, still there remains a number of absolute errors. We 
are greatly obliged to you for having called our attention to these." 

American Book Co. 



" . . . . We shall be glad to see the pamphlet you are preparing, 

and at all times to render you any assistance that we can 

E. H. Butler & Cq. 



30 Errors in School- Boohs. 

"•.... We are much obliged to you for submitting the matter to 
our consideration " Harper & Brothers. 



" . . . . "We have looked over the pamphlet with much interest, 
and believe that your efforts have resulted in much benefit to the 
cause of education. If it results also in stimulating public attention 
and interest in the matter of better roads it will be cause for further 
gratification." D. Appleton & Co. 



" . . . . We shall be very glad to have you mention the fact that 
this error was discovered by you, and that it was corrected by us at 
your instigation " Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 



" . . . . We have always invited criticism to our books, have 
never obstructed comparison of them with those issued by other pub- 
lishers, and have always been ready to kill or cure any book that 
could not stand such comparison. In a large number of our books 
and circulars appears a distinct request to teachers to notify us of any 
errors that they may find ; and that it does not appear in all is more 
a matter of inadvertence than of disinclination. We are never notified 
of an error without hunting it to the ground and having it corrected, 
and even the fact that a statement challenges criticism, although it 

may be correct, often leads us to change the statement " 

Henry Holt & Co. 



" We thank you most cordially for your esteemed favor, .... and 
commend your enterprise " Silver, Burdett & Co. 



" . . . . We received the letter which you sent some time ago, and 

it was forwarded to the author for his consideration Accept 

our thanks for your courtesy." Sheldon & Co. 



" . . . . We shall be very glad to have you send us all the criti- 
cisms which you may receive through your correspondence, and any 
errors which are clearly such, or can be proved by reliable authority, 

will be cheerfully rectified " 

University Publishing Co., New York. 



Errors in School-Books. ^1 



OPINIONS OF PRESIDENTS OF COLLEGES. 



" I think good might be done by a tribunal which would try to y 

expose errors in accepted school-books " 

Charles W. Eliot, President Harvard University, 

Cambridge, Mass. 

"Any effort that will render school text-books perfectly accurate is 
most commendable. I hope your enterprise will be crowned with 
success." E. H. Capen, President Tufts College, 

Medford, Mass. 

" . . . . The object which you seek to obtain — perfect accuracy 
of statement in books used in instruction — seems to me to be a very 
desirable one. Children naturally and properly have great confidence 
in the books which they study, and it is doubly important that all the 
statements made in such books should be in exact accord with facts, 
as far as they can be known." 

John K. Lord, Acting President Dartmouth College, 

Hanover, N. H. 

" .... It seems to me that our school-books cannot be too accu- 
rate, and that any erroneous statements in them should be corrected. 
I am therefore entirely in sympathy with your organized effort to 
eliminate such errors." 

John M. Coulter, President University of Indiana, 

Bloomington, Ind. 

" .... I heartily concur in the enterprise which you have inaugu- 
rated. I am confident that it will result in much good and benefit to 
teachers, and especially to the youth of the country. It will not only 
be the means of eradicating the errors of the text-books now in use, 
but in making authors and publishers more cautious in getting out 
new and revised editions." 

J. H. Bennett, Principal Tennessee Valley College, 

Evensville, Tenn. 



32 Errors in School- Boohs. 

" . . . . The objects to be sought by the publication of this pam- 
phlet seem to me to be very commendable " 

James G. K. McQue, President Lake Forest University^ 

Lake Forest, 111. 

" I regard j^our movement for the purpose of detecting errors in 
school-books a very much needed one, and, if wisely prosecuted, until 
all the errors in the text-books now in use are eliminated, will ot 

course be a result very much desired " 

B. D. CocKRiLL, President Trinity University, 

Tehuacana, Texas. 

" .... It is certainly very desirable that erroneous statements 
should be eliminated from school-books as far as possible, and the 
publication of this pamphlet will certainly help." 

Rev. E. M. Cravath, D.D., President Fish University, 

Nashville, Tenn. 

" . . . . You appear to have hit upon an admirable method of 
detecting and correcting mistakes. You will thus render a great ser- 
vice to teachers and others who use text-books " 

E. S. Frisbee, President Wells College, 

Aurora, N. Y. 

" .... I think the idea a good one. It occurs to me that a 
valuable service will be rendered the cause of education as well as the 
publishers themselves. In this work both teachers and publishers 
should be willing to co-operate. An error in the mechanical work of 
the book, or due to the carelessness of the author, should be eliminated 
as soon as possible, as in either case it will do incalculable mischief." 
F. B. Gault, President University of Idaho, 

Moscow, Idaho. 

" . . . . Your effort is a commendable one and deserves the co- 
operation of all who desire perfection in our text-books." 

Rev. E. a. Gobble, President Central Pennsylvania College, 

New Berlin, Pa. 

" .... I sympathize heartily with the attempt to eliminate errors 
from text-books. I hope it may meet with success." 

George F. Swain, Professor Institute of Technology, 

Boston, Mass. 



Errors in School-Boohs, 33 

" . . . . You are doing a good work in pointing out these errors, 
and it will surely lead to greater accuracy. Without doubt, educators 
should press this work forward." 

R. C. Hughes, Vice-President Tabor College^ 

Tabor, Iowa. 

" .... I think the objects sought to be obtained in its publica- 
tion are of paramount importance, and would gladly aid in the good 
work in any way possible." 

Stephen A. Jones, President State University, 

Reno, Nev. 

" I think your idea a good one with reference to having errors in 
school-books pointed out. If such exist, neither author, editor, or 
publisher should desire to have them perpetuated in successive editions, 
and such a collection as you have made, if circulated among teachers, 
will tend to keep some more wide awake than they are." 

E. R. Long, Chairman Faculty, Arkansas College, 

Batesville, Ark. 

" .... I regard the move one in the right direction, and most 
sensible. It must prove an incalculable aid to schools and publishers, 
and result in lessening the necessity and craze for a constant change 
of text-books, which seems to so largely prevail with some teachers 
and schools." John R. H. Latchavt, President Findlay College, 

Findlay, Ohio. 

" . . . . The work certainly commends itself " 

Lowell M. McAfee, President Park College, 

Parkville, Mo. 

" . . . . This is doubtless a long-needed step. In the number of 
new school-books being issued now there seems to be no end, and 
not a few of them show carelessness in compilation and hurry in 
publication. The step you have taken will, I believe, be for the good 
of all concerned." Wm. H. Obenchain, President Ogden College, 

Bowling Green, Ky. 

" . . . . Such work cannot but result in securing greater accuracy 
where accuracy is most important." 

H. L. Stetson, President Des Moines College, 

Des Moines, Iowa. 



34 Errors in School- Boohs. 

" .... It is certainly very desirable to purge all mistakes from 
the books which we place in the hands of the children of our public 
schools, and I hope that your publication of them will lead to the 
removal of many, if not all, of them." 

W. H. Scott, President Ohio State University, 

Columbus, Ohio. 

" .... I make immediate answer expressing gratification that 
systematic efforts are being made to insure accuracy, which includes 
completeness in all our text-books. Since ' the world is full of things 
and constantly becoming fuller,' according to David Swing's quaint 
saying, accuracy in detail must be ever becoming more rather than 
less difficult ; at least the opportunity for mistake is becoming practi- 
cally boundless. May the apparatus for accuracy as nearly as possi- 
ble keep pace.'* 

Sylvester F. Scovel, President University of Wooster, 

Wooster, Ohio. 

" By all means let us have exact fact and truth in the text-books, 
though the heavens fall." 

W. I. Stott, President Franklin College, 

Franklin, Ind. 

" .... I have not questioned that your movement is in the inter- 
est of careful and painstaking accuracy in the class room and in the 
office of the book-maker and editor." 

J. B. Shearer, President Davidson College, 

Davidson, N. C. 

" It is a grand idea " 

J. V. N. Standish, President Lombard University, 

Galesburg, 111. 

" . . . . There can be no question as to the value of the work that 
you are doing in this direction, and I believe that you are entitled to 
the gratitude of all educators everywhere." 

Chas. E. Taylor, President Wake Forest College, 

Wake Forest, N. C. 



Errors in ScJiool-Boohs. 36 



OPINIONS OF SUPERINTENDENTS OF PUBLIC 

INSTEUCTION. 



" Permit me to say that inasmuch as in a multitude of counsellors 
there is wisdom, the object sought to be obtained by the publication 
of your pamphlet is one that will no doubt be productive of great 
good." J. W. Anderson, Superintendent of Public Instruction, 

California. 

"I am much pleased with the little book, and think its mission a 
worthy one. I have often pondered with regret over the errors, false 
statements, and false ideas that are perpetuated from teacher to pupil 
through misstatements in text-books, and hope your effort in this direc- 
tion will be rewarded by a higher standard of accuracy in the books, 
and a greater effort on the part of author and publisher to make them 
as nearly perfect as possible, as too often those who use them are 
unable to make a correction, and too ready to accept every statement 
a text-book contains." 

Laura J. Eisenhuth, Superintendent of Public Instruction, 

North Dakota. 

" .... I approve of your work. No harm can come from judi- 
cious unbiased criticism. The more of this the better." 

S. E. Wolfe, Superintendent of Public Schools, 

Missouri.* 

" .... I think your pamphlet will be very useful to a host of 

teachers Every correction contained in the pamphlet has its 

value, and I wish you success in placing it in the hands of those to 
whom it properly belongs." 

H. M. Gaines, Superintendent of Public Instruction, 

Kansas. 

" .... I heartily endorse your efforts and the object sought to 

be accornplished by the publication of your pamphlet 

W. N. Sheats, Superintendent of Public Instruction, 

Florida. 



36 Errors in School- Books. 

" There surely is a very broad field for such a work, and I sin- 
cerely hope the objects for which it is prepared will be attained." 
John F. Murray, Superintendent of Public Instruction^ 

Colorado. 

" .... I wish you success in the work you have undertaken. I 
do not see how it can result otherwise than in good to the schools 
using text-books." 

D. L. KiEHLE, Superintendent of Public Instruction, 

Minnesota. 

" .... I am glad that you have begun this crusade, and feel sure 
that only good will come of it. By means of a careful and method- 
ical compilation of these errors, I am sure that the books placed in 
the hands of our children will become much better and more accurate." 
Henry R. Pettengill, Superintendent of Public Instruction, 

Michiofan. 



J3' 



" . . . . The object sought to be obtained by the publication of 
this pamphlet is good, and you have my hearty good wishes in the 
matter. I heartily wish the whole teaching and educational force in 
the country would put its hand to the task of voting out not only 
errors but slanders, lies, and sectionalism from the school-books of 
the country." 

John C. Scarborough, Superintendent of Public Instruction, 

North Carolina. 



OPINIONS OF SUPEEINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS. 



" .... I think your idea an excellent one, and would be pleased 
to assist you in any way that is in my power." 

Eva L. Kirkpatrick, County Superintendent, 

Winfield, Kan. 

" . . . . Your object seems to be a good one. An association 
formed for the purpose of eliminating errors from text-books would 

be of great value " 

J. M. NoRCROSS, Superintendent of Schools, 

Weymouth, Mass. 



Errors in School- Books. 37 

" .... I have looked at your pamphlet, and I have read portions 
of it with care. It seems to me that you are doing a great service to 
the cause of education, to the children, and to the publishers by elimi- 
nating the errors which frequently creep into the text-books used in 

our schools " 

A. P. Marble, Superintendent of Public Schools, 

Worcester, Mass. 

" .... It is hardly necessary to say that every person connected 
with public educational work is very much interested in your endeavor 
to eradicate any errors that may exist in text-books in common use. 
The means which you have taken to obtain the data necessary to the 
correction of such books is certainly efficacious, and your whole enter- 
prise is very much to be commended " 

Chas. W. Cole, Superintendent of Schools, 

Albany, N. Y. 

" . . . . You have certainly done a good work as far as you have 
gone, and deserve the thanks of educators for this beginning. I most 
heartily favor your plan of organized effort to discover and eliminate 
other errors. Any assistance I can give in the movement will be a 
pleasure." R. J. Coudon, Superintendent of Schools, 

Everett, Mass. 

" . . . . An effort to secure the elimination of errors from text- 
books is to be commended, and you are deserving of the thanks of 
educators for your interest in this direction." 

A. D. CoLEGROVE, Superintendent of Schools, 

Corey, Pa. 

" .... I am much interested in the pamphlet and the movement 

you are connected with Many errors are apt to creep in, a«id 

a little care will weed them out " 

William A. Mo wry, Superintendent of Schools, 

Salem, Mass. 

" .... I am heartily in sympathy with the movement you have 
inaugurated, and wish it all success. Too much cannot be done in 
this matter, and the publisher who resents such action advertises his 
disregard for accuracy in his own publications." 

J. I. Buck, Superintendent of Schools, 

Warren, Mass. 



38 Errors in School- Boohs. 

" . . . . Your work in the direction of eliminating errors from 
text-books is in the highest degree praiseworthy. There can be no 
question as to the desirability of making organized effort in this mat- 
ter. Every educator will lend you his fullest assistance." 

Irving A. Heikes, Superintendent of Schools, 

Plymouth, Pa. 

" .... I am sure that it meets with the hearty approval of all 
progressive teachers. You are doing far more than appears on the 
surface by your practical criticism of school-books. Very few will 
ever realize to what extent the scrutiny and examination of books 

will be intensified as influenced by your movement " 

W. L. MacGovtan, Superintendent of Schools, 

Warren, Pa. 

" . . . . Your efforts cannot fail to accomplish much good. We 
are suffering from too many text-books, because of the hurried and 
careless preparation of some and ' made-to-sell ' nature of others." 
O. S. Williams, Superintendent of Schools, 

Dedham, Mass. 

" .... I certainly am in accord with your expressed purpose to 

eliminate errors from our school-books " 

J. C. Phillips, Superintendent of Schools, 

Bath, Me. 

" .... I most heartily approve your efforts in this direction, and 
hope that success will crown them." 

J. Fairbanks, Superintendent of Schools, 

Springfield, Mo. 

" . . . . The plan is excellent, and will be of great assistance to 

teachers and superintendents " 

D. P. Dame, Superintendent of Schools, 

Webster, Mass. 

" I presume there can be but one opinion as to the necessity of 
such a publication. To argue in its favor would be an evidence of 
weakness. All I can say is, I trust that the good work will go on 
until every text-book of any character has received a thorough exami- 
nation." Albert Hart, Superintendent of Schools, 

Sacramento, Cal. 



Errors in School- Books. 39 

" I think it a most excellent plan." 

Mary L. Poland, Supervisor of SchoolSy 

Brattleboro, Vt. 

" . . . . The elimination of errors in fact from our text-books used 
in our schools is a step in the right direction." 

E. Jasper Edmands, Superintendent of Schools, 

Baldwinsville, Mass. 

" I think your purpose of making an organized effort to rid text- 
books of errors will readily commend itself to educators." 

H. S. Rogers, Superintendent of Schools, 

Hutchinson, Kan. 

" .... I regard the object of the pamphlet excellent " 

J. C. Hartzler, Superintendent of Schools, 

Newark, Ohio. 



OPINIONS OF PKINCIPALS OF ACADEMIES. 



" .... It is a good thing. No error should be permitted to live 
after it is discovered, and the sooner general attention is called to it 

the better. You are moving in the right direction " 

Geo. a. Williams, President Vermont Academy, 

Saxton's River, Vt. 

" Certainly every effort to improve our text-books by the elimina- 
tion of errors is commendable. I can conceive no possible objection 

to such a proposition " 

Walter E. Ranger, Principal Lyndon Institute, 

Lyndon, Vt, 

" . . . . Your object is worthy the support of all school men, and 
any company that is not willing to have its publications criticised 
ought not to place its books before an intelligent public. I am 
heartily in favor of your project." 

C. M. Janskey, Professor Mathematics, 

Southern Iowa Normal Scientific Business Institute, 

Bloomfield, la. 



40 Error's in School-Books. 

" . . . . Impartial criticism is always to be commended. I think 
you are doing a good work. A verj"^ large majority of the teachers 
of the country depend solely on the text-books for information ; it is 
therefore important that texts should be correct. Again, theae are 
occasionally some very shoddy books placed upon the market ; some 
very wild statements are occasionally printed and afterwards read and 

believed " John D. Meese, English Department, 

South- Western State Normal School, 

California, Pa. 

" The attempt to remove all errors from text-books meets my hearty 
approval. There is quite enough error and falsehood in the world 
without our teaching it in the schools. The truth and the truth only 
should be taught." 

Rev. a. MattiCe, Principal Seymour Smith Academy, 

Pine Plains, N. Y. 

" .... 1 believe it will prove to be of value to teachers and pub- 
lishers ; to the former by causing them to examine for themselves all 
statements ; to the latter by requiring more car© in revision and pub- 
lishing of books offered to them." 

Isaac F. Johnson, Principal Friends' School, 

Wilmington, Del. 

" . . . . The object sought is a commendable one. An organized 
effort to eliminate all errors from our text-books would result iia much 
good." Rev. Geo. P. Holt, Principal Shenandoah Institute, 

Dayton, Va. 

" . . . . There ought to be, and I believe are, no better critics of 
school-books than teachers, both as to method employed and as to the 
facts. Your work in this direction ... is worthy of commendation." 
Rev. Charles C. Hemmingwat, President Pritchett Institute, 

Glasgow, Mo. 

" . . . . You have the right plan. I think there is no other way 
in which errata can be so quickly and completely eliminated from our 
texts than this way that you have invented ; the step is much needed, 
— we need purer books rather than more new ones." 

H. S. Gilbert, President North Washington Institute, 

North Hope, Pa. 



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